Croona &#8211; SIDE-LINE

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

‘Click Interview’ with Freaky Mind: ‘We Demonstrate Who We Are Today And How We Sound’

Inferno Sound Diaries — Sat, 13 May 2023 17:00:00 +0000

Ilya Remaerd and Roman Ericson are now active for more than ten years as Freaky Mind. The Russian duo defines their sound as ‘Killer Body Music from Moscow!’ A right description for their powerful sound mixing EBM, Dark-Electro and Techno music which they exposed at different albums. The self-titled new album released by darkTunes Music Group probably stands for their most accomplished and powerful work to date; Industrial-Techno music for zombies or just dark, danceable Electro-underground stuff! I talked about this masterpiece with Ilya.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: Freaky Mind is already active for more than 10 years now. How do you look back at this career and the different productions that were released?

Ilya: We had some highs and lows, it’s true. There were moments I wish we could act differently, more boldly and persistently, with more self-confidence. Despite all this, I am convinced that we have been moving forward all this time, albeit sometimes not very fast. I see, how we change sonically into something more powerful and qualitative. Since it’s all about music after all, it’s the most important thing to me.

Q: You by the end of last year released the album “Freaky Mind”. What did you try to express by this self-titled work and how do you perceive the work in the band’s evolution?

Ilya: The title of this album means, that this time we didn’t put a lot of meaning into the album itself. I mean, all the previous times our albums were thematic, one way or another. This one is not. Rather, it is self-presentation. We demonstrate, who we are today and how we sound.

Q: How did “Freaky Mind” took shape? What have been the different stages you’d to go through to achieve this work and what’s the input of each member?

Ilya: Making this album was surprisingly easy. Everything was just flowing. We didn’t use much of the early stuff, and pretty quickly wrote brand new songs. In almost all tracks, we achieved the intended result pretty quickly. It happens quite rarely, when you know in advance, how exactly the song should sound. On this album we had this situation quite often. So, I can say, that Roman and I, we both definitely had fun making this record.

Q: Tell us a bit more about both guest artists -Freddie K. Croona and Her Own World who each contributed to one song of the album. How did you get in touch and how did the collaboration happened? What’s the bonus working with other artists?

Ilya: We contacted Her Own World for the first time remixing their song “Stalker Girl” for their debut-EP. I like their music very much, so we stayed in touch. Then, when we were making our “The Reason”-EP, we asked them to make a remix for us. What they did to “The Reason” was more than just an ordinary remix –Paula recorded her vocals in it and it was beautiful. I was fascinated by this approach. So, when we started working on our new album, I already knew, that I was going to ask Paula to sing in one of our tracks “One Night”, which I wrote specially for her voice. Glad she agreed.

Speaking of Fredrik, he’s been a friend of ours for a long time. We first met in Moscow in 2012 and had a great time. Then when he visited Moscow a couple of times with Cynical Existence, we played with him on stage. I really consider him a good friend. We often talk, ask each other how things are going. His appearance on one of our songs was a matter of time.

Q: The music clearly sounds to have been mainly composed for dancefloors. Where do your influences come from -and especially for the new album, and why is this ‘club-sound’ that important to you?

Ilya: You’re right, we really wanted to make a good album for playing on parties and DJ-sets. The list of our influences is so long. We were inspired a lot by 90s dance music, different branches of Trance, Techno and House. We love the club sound, although sometimes we allow ourselves to deviate from it, as we did on our album “Doom” (2018).

Q: I can imagine the war your country is involved in must have an impact on your music activities like live performances in other European countries, physical sales, further plans etc. What’s the real impact you can feel and how do you try to manage all these things?

Ilya: I think, our musical activities are not something we should complain about right now. The only thing I want to say is that we’re grateful to darkTunes Music Group and Raphael Beck personally for taking care of everything we worked on so hard for these years and for his responsiveness. It means a lot, really. And, of course, we hope that someday we get a chance to meet our fans, wherever they are, and have a good time together.

Freaky Mind – Freaky Mind (Album – darkTunes Music Group)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Thu, 02 Mar 2023 08:00:00 +0000

Genre/Influences: Dark-Electro, Aggrotech.

Format: Digital.

Background/Info: Russian formation Freaky Mind has already been active for years and has released many productions. Their newest, self-titled, album is the first one released by darkTunes and features eleven songs.

Content: “Freaky Mind” is a powerful production revealing a kind of crossover between Dark-Electro, Techno-Body and Aggrotech influences. Carrying choruses featuring catchy tunes and danceable beats are leading the listener in their grip. There’s no single break but only dancefloor stuff.

+ + + : Freaky Mind already released great works and never stops excelling in new, pumping, and merciless dance stuff for underground parties. The songs are well-crafted with constant power while supported by great leads. Songs like “Eternal” and “I Just Wanna Dance” are both potential club hits. There also is the more Technoid orientated “Freedom” and the Future-Pop inspired “Where Is My Mind?” featuring Fredrik Croona.

– – – : Some might say there’s nothing new here but I consider “Freaky Mind” as one of the band’s best exponents to date.

Conclusion: Industrial-Techno music for zombies or just dark, danceable Electro-underground stuff.

Best songs: “Eternal”, “I Just Wanna Dance”, “Freedom”, “Where Is My Mind?”, “Get Undressed”, “Everything But You”.

Rate: 8½.

Artist: www.facebook.com/freakymindband

Label: www.darktunes.com / www.facebook.com/darkTunesMusic

‘Click Interview’ with Teknovore: ‘One Who Eats Or Is Sustained By Technology’

Inferno Sound Diaries — Tue, 26 Jul 2022 17:00:00 +0000

George Klontzas got recognition being involved in the EBM/Dark-Electro project PreEmptive Strike 0.1. He got also involved with Croona and Cynical Existence. After the last PreEmptive Strike 0.1 album “Progeny Of The Technovore” (Infacted Recordings) he set up Teknovore. The sound reveals a hard mix of EBM, Trance and Industrial with guest singers. This is a modern piece of Electronic music with solid- and fully accomplished songs. I talked about this astonishing debut with George Klontzas.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: I can’t start this interview without asking you about a short look back to your involvement with PreEmptive Strike 0.1? What do you keep in mind and what has been the main goal when setting up Teknovore?

George: First of all, I’d like to thank you for reviewing my album and for this interview of course. Taking a look back, PES0.1 was a project that was born in a simpler time in my life. It was just a couple of friends having fun together, making the music we liked. Regrettably, along the way and over the years that slowly changed. I spent 16 years with PES0.1 and it gave me many wonderful experiences and the opportunity to meet so many amazing people. Leaving was definitely not a decision I made lightly, but simply put, it was time to step away and that chapter of my life is now closed and no longer has any bearing on me personally or musically with Teknovore.

As for the second part of your question, Teknovore as a wholly ‘me‘ project has given me the opportunities to make more of the music I want to make for myself, and the option to collaborate with a lot more artists for different types of vocal styles which has really let me be more creative in the sounds I make. Music is something I’ve always done for myself first and foremost because I enjoy the process so there was never any doubt that I would continue to make music. Primarily, it was just about making music as its own reward. For a while, I even toyed with the idea of releasing whatever music I made for free, but in the end I decided to put a label behind it just to give it the best possible chance of cutting through the noise and being heard.

Q: The name of your project is clearly connected with the last album of PreEmptive Strike 0.1 but what does it stand for? Tell us a bit more about the sound you’ve in mind for Teknovore and in which way is it a continuation of previous productions you composed?

George: Between 2016 and 2020 I really got back into Goa-Trance. There were some amazing new-school Goa albums that came out at that time which inspired me to start experimenting with that sound. I just love the pumping, spiraling energy and melodic peaks that Goa-Trance can achieve. At first, I thought I would start a Goa side-project with a dark or Industrial edge and that’s how “Progeny Of The Technovore” was born. Basically, the last PES0.1 album was initially supposed to be the first Technovore album. However, I generally dislike the idea of spreading my focus over different projects and abandoned that idea in favor of bringing those tracks into PES0.1.

Hence the name of the album, “Progeny Of The Technovore” -to signify that those tracks are literally ‘begotten of’ Technovore. I switched the ‘ch’ to a ‘k’ for aesthetic reasons later on. There’s no deeper meaning to the name itself. Its definition would be ‘one who eats or is sustained by technology’ but I honestly just chose it because I thought it would be eye-catching and easy to remember.

There are clearly elements of what I did with PES0.1 in Teknovore, but I’m not trying to emulate what I have already done before. It’s a new project so, despite any expectations there might have been because of my past work, it was a chance to try new things, experiment with different genres. There are many other Electronic genres that I enjoy, Techno, Psy-Trance, mid-tempo Cyber-Punk-inspired stuff, so tried to bring all those influences into the Teknovore fold into one cohesive whole.

Q: How does the debut opus “The Theseus Paradox” saw the daylight and what did you want to reflect by the album title?

George: “The Theseus Paradox” is a reference to a well-known thought experiment known as “The Ship Of Theseus” which poses the question of whether an object that has had all of its components replaced remains fundamentally the same object or not. If the ship of Theseus were kept in a harbor and every part on the ship were replaced one at a time, would it then be a new ship? Cognitive science would view the Ship not as a thing, or even a collection of parts, but rather as an organizational structure that has perceptual continuity. What mainly interested me is how all this pertains to the Self. What is it that makes us the same person through time? Are we even the same person or are we continuously dying and being reborn through the process of cellular regeneration?

I saw this concept reflected not only in my own life, but also in how I approached making this album. I didn’t want it to be simply a collection of tracks. It had to be a singular, complete entity where each track worked as part of a greater whole in creating that continuity.

Q: You worked with guest singers so did you handle specific criteria to ask the artists you worked with? How did this collaboration happened and what has been the true input of each singer?

George: There are three guest vocalists on “The Theseus Paradox”: Jay Taylor of J:Dead, Jay Ruin of RNZR/Ruinizer and of course Fredrik Croona. I’ve worked with Fredrik on various projects over the last 10 years and we have a great friendship and understanding, so he was a natural choice.

Jay Taylor, in fact, I met in the process of making the last Croona album “Ascend”. We worked on a track for Croona that would however eventually evolve to become the J:Dead vs Teknovore-single “Tearing Me Apart” and I also contributed a remix for his single ‘I’ll Wait’. We really enjoyed working with each other and he is such an amazing vocalist I just had to ask him to take part on the album and thankfully he agreed to record two tracks. I’m sure we’ll work together again in the not too distant future.

Jay Ruin is someone whose work I’ve followed for many years and have wanted to work with for a long time. I was convinced he was a good choice because he often bends genres in his own music much in the same way I do. He also recorded some additional synths for our collaboration track. I think we were very successful in creating a track that is both instantly recognizable as being rooted in Harsh EBM but also sounds fresh. He is currently recording vocals for another track for me.

Finally, I mustn’t forget to mention Z from Siva Six who contributed vocals for a cover of Dark Soho’s “Save Me God”. It ended up being on the “Anachronist”-single, which preceded the album, but he did an awesome job too. I knew he loved Dark Soho as much as I do so there was no other option other than him.

Q: It’s quite fascinating to see the multiple influences running through your work while the songs are carried by impressive, hard kicks. It for sure says something about the music styles you already mentioned, but do you handle specific criteria and/or references when it comes to the production process?

George: Ha ha, yes, the kicks! They were a bit of a talking point in your review. So about those actually, one of the genres I enjoy listening to is Tech-Trance. I especially like the production, a defining characteristic of which is that the tracks are usually driven by a loud kick drum, while the synths and basslines are side-chained to emphasize the kicks even more. This is actually one of the first things I knew I wanted to be a part of the Teknovore sound.

I don’t have specific criteria about what my sources of inspiration will be. I listen to a lot of music for inspiration so if I hear something I like, I’ll experiment with it and see how it works and if I can consolidate it within the context of Teknovore.

Q: I noticed you already made a few noticeable remixes for other artists. How do you proceed when working on it? And what are the further plans about remixes, new Teknovore stuff, concerts ao?

George: I was a bit surprised by the number of remixes I was asked to do especially when I hadn’t even released anything yet. Last year, I put a couple of tracks up on YouTube just to test the waters and see how they would be received –and almost immediately I got a couple of remix requests. It was quite flattering honestly and it solidified my conviction and belief in what I was doing with Teknovore. Since the release of “The Theseus Paradox” the remix requests haven’t stopped coming. In the past two months I’ve already delivered five remixes and committed to doing another three. Of course I’m also working on new tracks of my own at the same time. The tentative plan is to release another single and an EP by the end of the year hopefully, so, overall, there is a lot more Teknovore coming in the near future.

Finally, I’ll be making my live debut with Teknovore at a very special event later in the year. The announcement should come any day now, maybe even by the time this interview goes live.

Thank you again for this interview.

Teknovore – The Theseus Paradox (Album – Infacted Recordings)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Fri, 27 May 2022 07:00:00 +0000

Genre/Influences: EBM, Techno-Body, Industrial-Trance.

Format: Digital.

Background/Info: George Klontzas -known from his involvement with PreEmptive Strike 0.1 but also with Croona and Cynical Existence, has now unleashed his first solo-work following the “Anachronist”-single. Neon Decay, RNZR and J:Dead (2 songs) contributed as guest singers.

Content: George Klontzas was the main sound architect of PreEmptive Strike 0.1 and you’ll rapidly recognize his sound DNA at “The Theseus Paradox”. The work is driven by ultra-violent boosting beats while different influences like EBM, Industrial, Techno/Trance are constantly joining in. Most of the songs are instrumental edits with spoken samplings but you’ll also discover 4 songs with guest singers.

+ + + : The last album of PreEmptive Strike 0.1 entitled “Progeny Of The Technovore” also was the last album by the Greek formation George Klontzas contributed to. So this project name is not a coincidence while the sound is also driven by this furious fusion between EBM and Techno-Trance. It’s an extremely violent piece of music however refined by melodic, elevating leads. The spoken samplings are cool but the tracks with real vocals are adding a bonus. But my favorite pieces “Olethros” and “Split The Sky” are without vocals and feature sampled chants creating an elevating sensation. Both cuts are pure dancefloor killers!

– – – : The kicks are extremely hard and violent which is a cool for a while but Klontzas is maybe a little bit abusing of it.

Conclusion: The debut album by Teknovore is an impressive and overwhelming piece of modern Electro underground music composed by experienced and talented artists from this scene.

Best songs: “Olethros”, “Split The Sky”, “Relinquish Your Flesh feat. Neon Decay”, “Every Beaten Bone feat. J;Dead”, “Apotheosis”.

Rate: 8½.

Artist: www.facebook.com/TeknoVoreMusic

Label: www.infacted-recordings.de / www.facebook.com/pages/Infacted-Recordings/124099254321690

Menschdefekt feat. J:Dead – Secular Days (EP – Infacted Recordings)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Thu, 26 May 2022 07:00:00 +0000

Genre/Influences: Dark-Pop, Industrial-Pop.

Format: Digital.

Background/Info: While Menschdefekt is actually achieving their new full length, we get this EP featuring UK artist Jay Taylor aka J:Dead.

Content: The title song is a harsh approach of Electro-Pop empowered with guitar playing and carried by a solid chorus featuring powerful vocals by J:Dead. We next get two pumping tracks, kind of hard Electro-Pop power. One of the songs features vocals by Fredrik Croona. The last track is a remix of the title track by Rob Dust.

+ + + : The choruses of the songs -but especially the title song, have an elevating effect. This is a cool international collaboration resulting in a complementary production. Next to the original song both other cuts left could be title songs as well. I like the heavy resonating “Not The Hate” featuring a great production of the vocals. Rob Dust did a great job remixing “Secular Days” which sounds even better than the original edit.

– – – : Only cool, danceable songs but maybe not the ‘ultimate’ hit.

Conclusion: This is a successful collaboration which will appeal for lovers of naughty Electro-Pop sounds.

Best songs: “Not The Hate”, “Secular Days – Rob Dust Remix”, “Flames”.

Rate: 7.

Artist: www.menschdefekt.com / www.facebook.com/official.menschdefekt Label: www.infacted-recordings.de / www.facebook.com/pages/Infacted-Recordings/124099254321690

Swedish dark electro act Against I launches new single ‘You And I’

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Tue, 17 May 2022 07:25:40 +0000

Out via the Gothenburg (Sweden) based label Twisted Flesh Recordings is the new single from the Swedish dark electro act Against I aka Fredrik Croona. “You And I” features 4 tracks and guest vocals by J:dead.

J:dead also explained the meaning behind the song: “‘You And I’ is a story about a relationship breaking down, because either person cannot love themselves first. Each person is trying to hold the other up from their own struggles but in turn, is forgetting about themselves and their own needs.”

“You And I” can be checked out below.

You and I by Against I, J:dead

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

Against I – O.M.G. (EP – Insane Records)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Tue, 26 Apr 2022 07:00:00 +0000

Genre/Influences: Dark-Electro, Industrial.

Format: Digital.

Background/Info: Fredrik Croona (Cynical Existence, Croona) is focusing on a new project. After the “Scum”-single he released this debut-EP featuring four songs plus two remixes.

Content: Fredrik Croona moves back to the harsher work he already explored at Cynical Existence. “O.M.G. stands for a true fusion between Dark-Electro influences mainly emerging at the melody lines and Industrial guitar playing. The vocals are harsh and enraged. Next to the “Scum”-song -plus two remixes featuring one by Tekknovore, you’ll also discover 3 other songs.

+ + + : Fredrik Croona never stops exploring new paths by setting up new projects. Against I doesn’t bring innovative elements but will please Cynical fans. There’s a similar power and rage emerging at the surface, but which has been masterly created by a harmonious twist between guitar and electronics. The title song and “Disgust” both are cool songs but the best cut is for sure the merciless and dancefloor driven Dark-Electro remix of “Scum” by Teknovore.

– – – : I got the feeling Against I has the potential to do better. And that’s a good thing as new releases are in the pipeline.

Conclusion: Fredrik Croona remains a prolific artist feeling comfortable with different music styles. He shows a darker and more aggressive side with Against I.

Best songs: “Scum – Teknovore Remix”, “O.M.G.”, “Disgust”.

Rate: 7½.

Artist: www.facebook.com/againstIband

Label: www.insane-records.com / www.facebook.com/InsaneRecordsEU

Swedish industrial act Against I releases new EP: ‘O.M.G.’

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Thu, 17 Mar 2022 15:50:17 +0000

The Swedish industrial act Against I has just released a new EP, “O.M.G.” via Insane Records. “O.M.G.” stands for Obscene Morbid Gore. The four tracks on the EP conceptually bring together the darker parts of humans; death, murder, greed and hate. The red line that goes through all tracks are these things.

Musically the songs continue what the “Scum” single built up, but with some more refinement. The EP also contains remixes by Teknovore and DeathVerified. O.M.G. is available NOW in digital format on all streaming platforms including Bandcamp!

Against I is fronted by Fredrik Croona (Cynical Existence / Menschdefekt).

O.M.G by Against I

Here’s the project’s previous single, “Scum”.

Swedish dark electro metal act Against I releases first single: ‘Scum’

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Sat, 26 Feb 2022 13:00:00 +0000

Against I is the all new project of musician Fredrik Keith Croona who you will know from such projects as Cynical Existence, Croona, Rotncore, Empyres or yet Menschdefekt. In this new project Fredrik focused on the symbiosis of aggrotech and industrial metal styles.

Out now via Insane Records is a first single, “Scum”, which can be downloaded right here on Bandcamp. There is also a video available below.

Electro-industrial act Van Roy Asylum returns with 3rd album ‘Pantheon’

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Tue, 18 Jan 2022 13:33:10 +0000

“Pantheon” is the third full-length album by Van Roy Asylum to be released on January 22^nd via Insane Records.

The record features contributions by Fredrik Keith Croona (Cynical Existence, Empyres, Menschdefekt, Curse Of Eibon, Agains I, Croona and many others), Alex Tepiskidis (Chamaeleon, Aftereffect) and Ilya Konklever (Freaky Mind, Revelate).

You can order the new album right here as a download or on CD available as a 6 panel digipak with slipcase limited to 100 hand numbered copies.

Pantheon by Van Roy Asylum

Here’s the video teaser for the album.

Alien:Nation – Extraterrestrial BIOS Systemshell (Album – Insane Records)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Wed, 08 Sep 2021 19:45:00 +0000

Genre/Influences: Dark-Electro.

Format: Digital, 2CD.

Background/Info: Five years after their official debut album, Colombian project Alien:Nation strikes back with a new opus featuring two discs.

Content: The first –and main, disc entitled “Input Ritual” brings us back to the (h)el(l)ectro of this band. The songs are driven by pure rage and typical dark-Electro leads. The harsh vocals –mainly sung in Spanish, accentuate the terror-vision of this work. Three songs feature contributions from Midian Dite, System Noire and Chamaeleon. There also is another song, which is pure hardcore; a kind of metal style with guitar sounds as the final track of the album.

The second disc entitled “Output Pact” features the single “Misanthropic Affection” followed by 9 remixes; Croona, Devil-M, LuMyia, Nahtaivel, Nygen, Nohycit, Ultimate Soldier, Wychdoktor and Техногенетика (Technogenetica) have been asked for the job.

+ + + : If you’re into ‘classical’ Dark-Electro this album will be an opportunity to discover an interesting formation, which clearly reveals a nose for this music genre. The songs are pure adrenaline and rage, although always supported with melodic leads. The album stands for constant power. There’re a few cool collaborations like the excellent “Nothing For Nothing” featuring Midian Dite. Among the remixes I’ll mention the cool remix of Croona and the tormenting edit of Nahtaivel.

– – – : Alien:Nation is somewhat cliché, gut who cares when the sound is cool!? I’m however not a huge fan of the song “Misanthropic Affection”. I prefer most of the remixes to the original edit. Another weird cut featured at the main disc is the Metal/Hardcore-like “Blasphemous Alientech Warfare”, which has nothing in common with the sound of Alien:Vision.

Conclusion: If you think hell is just fantasy, listening to “Extraterrestrial BIOS Systemshell” will be a true shock!

Best songs: “Malignant Malware”, “Nothing For Nothing”, “Vision Reborn” + “Misanthropic Affection – Nahtaivel Remix”, “Misanthropic Affection – Croona Remix”.

Rate: 7½.

Artist: www.facebook.com/Aliennationebm

Label: www.insane-records.com / www.facebook.com/InsaneRecordsEU

Extraterrestrial BIOS Systemshell by Alien:Nation

Colombian dark electro act Alien:Nation strike back with 2nd album – check out the album preview

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Fri, 02 Jul 2021 13:11:48 +0000

The Colombian dark electro act Alien:Nation are preparing the release of their second album and this after having completed a huge number of remixes, joint tracks and compilation appearances. The studio work from the past 5 years – collected on the 2CD LP “Extraterrestrial BIOS Systemshell” – will now be released on Insane Records on July 9th.

The double CD has two volumes: on “Input Ritual” we find 12 new tracks that make up the main part of the release. Expect it to be even tougher and more aggressive than before still incorporating other genre ingredients such as trance and techno. We also see some collaborations happening with Midian Dite, System Noire, Chamaeleon and Cryptic Dawn.

The second CD is called “Output Pact” and contains the original tracks from the recently released single “Misanthropic Affection” and 9 remixes by Croona, Devil-M, LuMyia, Nahtaivel, Nigen, Nohycit, Ultimate Soldier, Wychdoktor and Техногенетика.

This 2CD set is limited to 100 copies only, collectors be warned! You can order it on Bandcamp together with the download version.

Below is the video preview of the album.

And you can already listen to two complete tracks below.

Croona – Ascend (Album – Infacted Recordings)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Thu, 20 May 2021 18:30:00 +0000

Genre/Influences: Dark Electro-Pop, Cinematographic.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Fredrik Croona strikes back with the third full length album under the Croona moniker. He previously released three other albums as Fredrik Croona and got involved with different bands like Cynical Existence, Project Rotten ao. The Swedish artist realized this album together with George Klontzas (previously involved with PreEmptive Strike 0.1). “Ascend” has been introduced as an album with a different approach and resulted in twelve songs.

Content: The opening song takes off in a pretty cinematographic style, but progressively evolves into a heavy, pumping piece of music. Croona transposes classical Electro-Pop into a raw and powerful format. That’s definitely the main characteristic of the work. The songs are driven by danceable kicks, carrying melody lines, passionate vocals and this raw, cold production on top. One of the songs features guitar playing injecting an Industrial touch to the album. The album finally ends the way it started with a Cinematographic approach.

+ + + : It’s not easy defining the style of “Ascend”, but I experience it as a harsh, raw and icy Electro-Pop style mixed with Industrial elements. Above all it’s an atypical, powerful format. I also noticed a true progression in the song writing and global production, which is probably due to George Klontzas. But let’s not forget Fredrik Croona became an experienced artist who has released an impressive number of productions. They both together create a great match. Some raw sound treatments are sometimes reminding me of Seb Komor, the instrumental “Mindbender” being a true masterpiece, but I also have to mention “Automate” for its monstrous Techno lead and “Futurism” carried by a solid chorus.

– – – : I don’t see major minus points, but I got the feeling this project is even able to do better.

Conclusion: “Ascend” definitely appears to be the best Croona album so far. This is the sound of aggressive, raw Electro-Pop.

Best songs: “Mindbender”, “Automate”, “Futurism”, “The Search”, “The Dark Ones”.

Rate: (8½).

Artist: www.facebook.com/croonaofficial

Label: www.infacted-recordings.de / www.facebook.com/pages/Infacted-Recordings/124099254321690

Digital Energy – Nostalgia (EP – Infacted Recordings)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Sun, 18 Oct 2020 19:30:08 +0000

Genre/Influences: Electro-Pop.

Format: Digital.

Background/Info: German duo Digital Energy last year struck back with their first album (cf. “Tempest”) in eleven years. I have to admit I wasn’t that impressed by the album. They now move back to the album with the “Nostalgia”-EP featuring mainly remixes.

Content: Digital Energy is one of those Synth-Pop bands clearly inspired by Depeche Mode. The global approach and some of the treatments are clearly emulating the masters of the genre. Five songs from the last album have been exposed to the remix skills of other artists while there also is a remix of a song from their debut album (cf. “Interemotional”) and one exclusive song.

Remixes have been accomplished by Rob Dust, Wave In Head, Croona, People Theatre, The Psychic Force, AD:Key and S.E.Pell. Notice by the way the band made some alternative edits of a few songs as well.

+ + + : There’s an interesting diversity of remixes thanks to the different artists. One of the best songs however is the exclusive “Take A Ride” revealing a club-orientated format; danceable and catchy Electro-Pop! Another club-friendly song is the remix of “Nostalgia” by People Theatre. In an EBM driven direction you’ll hear the AD:Key remix of “Trust”. Another attention grabber is the “Club Version” of “Unite!”, which sounds much more convincing than on the album. The last song, which is a remix of “Nostalgia / Disease” is an original work by S.E.Spell featuring bombastic treatments and the perfect final song for the EP.

– – – : I’m less convinced by the melancholic pieces/remixes, which are closer in the vein of the original edits. I also expected a bit more out of the remixes from Rob Dust who’s normally featuring great, clubby remixes.

Conclusion: This EP reconciles me a bit with Digital Energy, “Nostalgia” being much more exciting than the album.

Best songs: “Take A Ride”, “Nostalgia – People Theatre’s Mirror Mix”, “Trust – AD:Key Remix”, “Unite! – Club Version”.

Rate: (7½).

Artist: www.facebook.com/digitalenergymusic

Label: www.infacted-recordings.de / www.facebook.com/pages/Infacted-Recordings/124099254321690

Menschdefekt – Cursed (EP – Infacted Recordings)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Thu, 30 Jul 2020 18:30:52 +0000

Genre/Influences: Dark-electro, industrial-pop.

Format: Digital.

Background/Info: Six years have passed since the last Menschdefekt-album “Touch Of Madness”. “Cursed” might be seen as the comeback for this German-Swedish formation featuring Fredrik Croona as singer. This album comes as an appetizer to the new opus “Empty World”.

Content: “Cursed” takes off with the title song as “Single Version”, which is a kind of dark-electro song accomplished with a catchy, poppy chorus. The vocals are harsh, but the melodic lead has something elevating. This is a song to all together sing and dance to.

We next get 8 remixes by Ruined Conflict, Frame Of Mind, Reichsfeind, X-Horize, BloodConnek7ion, DV8R, Nine Seconds and Mechanical Moth.

+ + + : There’s no better way announcing a new album by such a sonic bomb! “Cursed” is a song you’ll rapidly keep in mind and before you realize it, you’ll be contaminated. You’ll spontaneously start to sing the chorus again and again to finally repeat the song again. I also heard several cool remixes like the more poppy- and minimal like one by Ruined Conflict. I also like the job done by Frame Of Mind, DV8R and Mechanical Moth.

– – – : It’s just a pity this EP only features one song and an endless list of remixes; good for the DJ’s, but I’m expecting a bit more so let’s wait for the album.

Conclusion: Menschdefekt strikes back with a dancefloor killer!

Best songs: “Cursed – Single Version”, “Cursed – Ruined conflict Remix”, “Cursed – Frame Of Mind Remix”, “Cursed – DV8r Remix”, “Cursed – Mechanical Moth Remix”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www.menschdefekt.com / www.facebook.com/official.menschdefekt

Label: www.infacted-recordings.de / www.facebook.com/pages/Infacted-Recordings/124099254321690

Cynical Existence – Rebirth (Album – Advoxya Records)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Mon, 27 Apr 2020 19:30:52 +0000

Genre/Influences: Industrial, electronic, metal, crossover.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: After having released three albums on Alfa Matrix and one album on Advoxya Records, Cynical Existence unleashed its fifth opus at the end of 2019. Fredrik Croona got some assistance from Anders Ström and Rodolfo Montenegro. The guitar has been played by Jimmy Bergman while Erik Gustafson played some additional guitars on the opening song. George Klontzas (known from his involvement in Pre.Emptive Strike 01) did some additional keyboards. Notice there’s also a limited edition available featuring an extra disc.

Content: The album “Dying Light” (2017) already was a step towards a new sound direction. “Rebirth” simply confirms this evolution in sound. The guitar has been accentuated and features several solo parts, injecting a clear metal touch to the songs. There’s something ‘doom’-like hanging over the production, which is an aspect you also can notice in the production of the vocals. However Cynical Existence remains influenced by electronic music as well, the electronic parts adding a melodic touch to the work.

+ + + : If “Dying Light” could be considered as a transitional opus, “Rebirth” seems to indicate the new path of Cynical Existence. The band left its electronic roots behind –or to the Fredrik Croona-project, to focus on pure crossover. It always is a challenge to transpose your original and successful sound into something new. I enjoy the ‘doom’ sphere recovering this work. If you like hard and enraged ‘industrial’ music Cynical Existence has something of a sonic demon!

– – – : From a very personal point of view I definitely prefer the early work of the band. “Rebirth” has less in common with the electronic side, which gives the band some recognition. It even sounds a bit as music for a different (metal) scene.

Conclusion: “Rebirth” in a way stands for the renewed sound of Cynical Existence!

Best songs: “Crawling Chaos”, “Cursed”.

Rate: (7).

Artist: www .cynicalexistence .com / www .facebook .com /cynicalexistenceband

Label: www .advoxya –records .com / www .facebook .com /pages /Advoxya –Records /265765706059

Debut single ‘The Immortals’ by Empyres lands on Insane Records

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Mon, 29 Jul 2019 08:41:52 +0000

It has been a while since new bands joined Insane Records, but the label has now picked up the American Swedish project Empyres, the project by Justin Thiele (Viscera Drip) and Fredrik Croona (Cynical Existence, Croona, RotnCore).

Empyres have now launched their debut single “The Immortals”, taken from the upcoming “Cruel Bastards” LP. The single is supported by Syncfactory and 13th Angel remixes.

The Immortals by Empyres

Solar Fake – You Win. Who Cares? (DCD Album – Out Of Line)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Fri, 28 Dec 2018 20:00:44 +0000

Genre/Influences: Future-pop, body-pop, EBM.

Background/Info: After the acoustic-live album “Sedated” (2017) Sven Friedrich and
André Feller are back on track unleashing the fifth studio album of their Solar Fake project.

Content: “You Win. Who Cares?” moves on there where previous albums left off. The influences remain pretty similar, mixing elements of EBM together with electro-pop and future-pop. The songs are danceable and mostly carried by solid melody lines during the choruses. A few harder cuts make me think to the power-pop style several artists are actually dealing with (and I especially refer to the newest work of Croona).

The limited edition of this work features an extra disc taking off with the cover of “Papillon” (originally written by The Editors). We next get a solid load of remixes by MR. Kitty, Patenbrigade: Wolff, Ost+Front, In Strict Confidence, Adam Is A Girl, Random Starlight and Era Nocturna together with Heavenly Creatures.

+ + + : Solar Fake has established their very own sound throughout the years. They are merging different electro-styles together resulting in a highly danceable and melodic pop format. This album confirms the talent of the German duo while accentuating their composing skills for great melody lines. But it also is an album revealing a styled approach and numerous cool sound treatments.

The cover version of “Papillon” is a real challenge, but it’s a cool version, which I think will be very efficient on stage. Among the remixes I especially want to mention the great job done by Patenbrigade: Wolff, In Strict Confidence and Adam Is A Girl.

– – – : This work will not take you by surprise; it sounds personal and danceable, but without being a true innovation.

Conclusion: Solar Fake confirms their growing status (especially in their homeland) by this ultra accessible and danceable work.

Best songs: “Just Like This”, “Wrong Direction”, “Invisible”, “A Bullet Left For You” + “Just Like this – Patenbrigade: Wolff Remix”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: www .solarfake .de / www .facebook .com /SolarFake

Label: www .outofline .de / www .facebook .com /outoflinelabel

Croona – Memento Mori (CD Album – Infacted Recordings)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Tue, 13 Nov 2018 19:30:19 +0000

Genre/Influences: Electro-pop, dark-pop.

Background/Info: And here’s the debut album of (Fredrik) Croona. “Memento More” features 12 songs. Among the tracklist you’ll discover the album version of a few cuts released on the EP. I however have to say that the title track of the EP “My Sweet Revenge” ‘-(featuring Avarice In Audio) is not on the album tracklist.

Content: There’s no real significant difference between Fredrik Croona and Croona. I rather should speak about an evolution in sound, this album sounding harder and now and then even empowered by guitar. From melodic passages towards pure pop-rage, this album is quite diversified.

+ + + : I can only but admit that Croona has an accomplished a significant work. The songs are well-crafted and often carried by strong choruses. The dark format of this electro-pop production is not that new, but the power and rage running throughout the songs isn’t exactly something we’ve been familiar with. There’re several noticeable cuts featured at this album and even a great instrumental one (cf. “Ashes From The Past”), which has something future-pop like.

– – – : Electro-pop purists will probably banish this work, which has nothing in common with the traditional ‘happy’ and ‘feel-good’ music. Speaking for myself I think this album is just missing ‘the’ absolute hit!

Conclusion: Croona is somewhere in between different genres or a perfect fusion between styles you don’t exactly expect to get mixed together. This is a noticeable work.

Best songs: “Bleed For Me feat. Jimmy Bergmann”, “The Day I Died”, “Mine”, “It’s Over”, “Regret”.

Rate: (7½).

Artist: www .facebook .com /croonaf

Label: www .infacted –recordings .de / www .facebook .com /pages /Infacted –Recordings /124099254321690

Croona – My Sweet Revenge (Digital EP – Infacted Recordings)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Mon, 12 Nov 2018 20:30:00 +0000

Genre/Influences: Electro-pop, dark-pop.

Background/Info: You for sure know Fredrik Croona from his involvement with Cynical Existence and Project Rotten. The past few years he also released a kind of dark future-pop music as Fredrik Croona. And he now strikes back as ‘Croona’ and signed to Infacted Recordings.

Content: The title song features Avarice In Audio and is a rather hard and harsh kind of electro-pop music. The song is much harder than the stuff released as Fredrik Croona. We next get 2 more songs, which are carried by hard kicks. Both last songs are remixes, first by ES23 and next by Schwarzstern.

+ + + : I experienced this first exposure of Croona as an offspring between the dark electro-pop of the Fredrik Croona productions and the harsher (evil) side of Cynical Existence. It’s a hard exposure of electro-pop music and not a new Depeche Mode copyist, which for Swedish ‘pop’ formations is rather rare. The title song makes sense and will for sure bring people to dance.

– – – : I expected a bit more out of the remixes and especially the one by ES23, which is a band I really like. I can’t say I was totally convinced by this debut, but let’s wait for the album to get an idea about the potential of Croona.

Conclusion: If electro-pop music makes you happy, Croona reveals an evil and merciless side!

Best songs: “My Sweet Revenge feat. Avarice In Audio”.

Rate: (7).

Artist: www .facebook .com /croonaf

Label: www .infacted –recordings .de / www .facebook .com /pages /Infacted –Recordings /124099254321690

Fredrik Croona – This Is Goodbye (CD Album – Advoxya)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Fri, 23 Mar 2018 20:30:54 +0000

Genre/Influences: Dark future-pop, dark-electro.

Background/Info: We all know Fredrik Croona from his involvement with Cynical Existence, Project Rotten and even Menschdefect, but the Swedish musician is also gaining more recognition for his solo-project. Fredrik Croona released his third full length album in 2017 and has invited several guest singers to achieve this work.

Content: The debut album of Fredrik Croona took me by surprise for its future-pop approach, which he confirmed on the next work. “This Is Goodbye” again is strongly inspired by the melodic side of future-pop music, but globally speaking the sound becomes darker and even a bit closer to dark-electronics.

It also is the most diversified work of the artist today and that’s maybe due to the guest artists. Worm Of The Earth, Ruined Conflict, Adoration Destroyed and Cold Therapy contributed each to one song on the album.

+ + + : “This Is Goodbye” sounds in the line of the previous albums and yet it’s somewhat different. So I would say that Fredrik Croona is not repeating himself and that’s a damned good thing. He has mixed the future-pop basis of his sound with darker elements while the different guest musicians/singers inject some extra diversity to the work. I’m thinking to Xavier Morales (Ruined Conflict) who with his timbre of voice reminding Ronan Harris gives another dimension to this work. The melodic side of the album remains however its main characteristic and strength. Fredrik Croona has created a more personal future-pop sound on this album.

– – – : Even if this artist still takes me by surprise singing in a rather clear and passionate way, you can hear on some of the songs he’s not a typical and experienced ‘pop’ singer, but in the end it’s not a typical ‘pop’ album… I however believe it’s one of the few elements of the album that could be improved.

Conclusion: “This Is Goodbye” is an entertaining work, which might appeal for lovers of the good-old future-pop movement and still darker electro-heads.

Best songs: “What Are You Waiting For”, “My Bleeding Heart”, “As I Open My Eyes feat. Ruined Conflict”.

Rate: (7).

Artist: www .facebook .com /fcroona 84

Label: www .advoxya –records .com / www .facebook .com /pages /Advoxya –Records /265765706059

Totem Obscura – Nordische Feste (CD Album – Alfa Matrix)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Sun, 31 Dec 2017 19:15:13 +0000

Genre/Influences: Dark-electro, medieval-(h)el(l)ectro.

Background/Info: Behind Totem Obscura is hiding Pedro ‘Acylum’ Engel and his wife Nadine ‘Croona’ Engel. They’re both known for their work under the Acylum moniker, but Nadine recently also released a harsh and industrial new album as Aengeldust. “Nordische Fest” is the second opus of Totem Obscura.

Content: Totem Obscura is a bit to Heimataerde, like Acylum is to Wumpscut! “Nordische Feste” mixes dark-electronic elements together with medieval atmospheres. The German lyrics bring a gothic touch to the work. But the album is not excelling in power and sonic violence, but reveals overwhelming atmospheres and even melancholia. I sometimes get the impression Totem Obscura got inspired by the imaginary world of “Game Of Thrones” and I think to have recognized samplings from this famous series running through the album.

The album also features a song featuring Cosmic Armchair, which logically resulted in a more danceable approach. Another noticeable cut is “Helden” for featuring Hubert Kah (who did some backing vocals in the 80s for Sandra). Last, but not least you’ll discover remixes by Ruined Conflict, Hell:Sector and Crytek.

+ + + : I really admire the work and genius of Pedro Engel who according to me is one of the most talented musicians of his era dealing with dark-electronics. But he also is a man of many talents, which can accomplish much more than only Acylum tracks. I have to admit I expected this album to be a bit harder, but globally speaking I like the medieval atmospheres this album has been made of. I like the bleak mood recovering the songs, which feel like announcing a nearby disaster. It all sounds raw and tormented. The famous EP-song “Eisenmann” remains one of the major cuts of this album, but I also have to mention “Blut Marschiert” for its coldness. The medieval chants running through a few cuts inject an extra touch of mystery and visual appeal. Among the remixes I want to mention a great contribution by Ruined Conflict.

– – – : I expected a harder and powerful album, but that says more about me instead of the band. “Nordische Feste” is not the kind of work that will put dancefloors on fire (like early Heimataerde) although it’s a fascinating experience.

Conclusion: Totem Obscura transforms dark-electronic music into a medieval voyage and other fantasy universes. This is the perfect alternative soundtrack for “Game Of Thrones” or “The Lord Of The Rings”.

Best songs: “Eisenmann”, “Blut Marschiert”, “Bluttanz”, “Blut Marschiert – Ruined Conflict Remix”, “Gestandig”.

Rate: (7½).

Band: www .facebook .com /totemobscura

Label: www .alfa –matrix .com / www .facebook .com /Alfa .Matrix

Aengeldust – Zucht (Digital EP – Alfa Matrix)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Sat, 30 Dec 2017 19:15:44 +0000

Genre/Influences: Dark-electro, industrial-electro.

Background/Info: After the astonishing “Agent Orange”-album Nadine ‘Engel’ Croona (Acylum, Totem Obscura) is back on track unleashing this extra EP featuring 3 new songs plus 10 remixes.

Content: The sound and influences haven’t changed at all. Aengeldust sounds harder than any other project Nadine is involved with. This is the industrial side of the Aengeldust ‘bitch’ and I can assure you it’s a new merciless assault.

Remixes were executed by Antibiosis, Endzeit, Acylum, Havokk, Siva Six, Kill The Sleeper, Parasite Of God, Nebelwächter, Siamgda and Kilmarth.

+ + + : Among the new cuts I especially like both opening tracks, which are mixing the dark-electro style of Wumpscut (definitely an important source of inspiration for the Acylum-gang) and pure harsh industrial music. The remixes (of songs that were originally released on the “Agent Orange”-album) are adding diversity, but can’t compete with the harshness of Aengeldust. I however like the work of Havokk for its bombast and Endzeit for the distorted power.

– – – : I expected a bit more out of Acylum, Siva Sixx and Siamgda. They’re for sure the most familiar names from the list although not delivering the most inspired cuts.

Conclusion: “Zucht” clearly is the EP that would have been originally released as extra disc on the limited edition of the album, but as the label seems to have changed its policy about limited editions we here get a nice and highly recommended EP confirming the industrial rage of Aengeldust.

Best songs: “Suicide Bomber – Havokk Remix”, “Zucht”, “Agent Orange – Endzeit Version”, “Suicide Bomber – Nebelwächter Remix”.

Rate: (7½).

Band: www .facebook .com /Aengeldust

Label: www .alfa –matrix .com / www .facebook .com /Alfa .Matrix

Cynical Existence – Dying Light (CD Album – Advoxya Records)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Thu, 22 Jun 2017 18:15:44 +0000

Genre/Influences: Industrial-EBM, crossover.

Background/Info: Cynical Existence is back on track and has unleashed their fourth full length album to date. The band now consists of the captain on board Fredrik Croona, assisted by George Klontzas (PreEmptive Strike 01) while Erik Gustafsson is now taking care of the guitar. “Dying Light” also is the first album of the band released on Advoxya Records while all previous albums were released on Alfa Matrix.

Content: Cynical Existence never has been a band to deal with sweet music. This new opus again reveals a truly fusion between harsh and violent guitar playing and cold, but melodic electronics. With some imagination you can imagine the dark future-pop style Fredrik Croona at one side mixed with violent guitar. It creates a kind of good-old crossover music carried by the furious vocals of the frontman.

The final part features remixes by Freaky Mind, Iron Clad and Cutoff Sky.

+ + + : Cynical Existence has found its own style and sound DNA, which is mixing different influences with each other. It no longer is the typical furious dark-electronic music, but a band that has evolved over the years towards a more industrial-minded sound where guitar and electronics have the same importance. I especially like the songs carried by melodic leads and “End Of The Line” is a great cut in the genre.

– – – : “Dying Light” is a cool work, but in the end a little bit predictable. The remixes don’t really sound like a bonus to the album.

Conclusion: “Dying Light” is a source of dark energy and a reactor of sonic violence.

Best songs: “End Of The Line”, “I”, “Fuck Your Crew”, “Edge Of Sanity”.

Rate: (7).

Band: www .facebook .com /cynicalexistenceband

Label: www .advoxya –records .com / www .facebook .com /pages /Advoxya –Records /265765706059

Cold Therapy – Figures And Faces (CD Album – Advoxya Records)

Inferno Sound Diaries — Wed, 21 Jun 2017 18:15:37 +0000

Genre/Influences: Dark-electro.

Background/Info: Polish artist Jacek Wolański set up Cold Therapy as a solo-project in 2012. He quickly started working with singers, but now strikes back as a solo-project unleashing the third official full length album “Figures And Faces”.

Content: Sound-wise nothing has really changed. This new work moves on where “Masquerade Infinite” stopped. Cold Therapy is not exactly the dark-electro formation driven by powerful sequences and hard-pumping rhythms. The power is hiding in the dark atmospheric aspect of the work. It sounds a bit bombastic and reinforced by industrial sounds. I also noticed a few epic-like chant passages, which are in harmony with the epic input. Wolański sings in a rather ghost-like style, which is fully appropriated with the music.

The overwhelming haunting atmospheres are once more evoking to me the tormented style of Yelworc and even Wumpscut. The last song features Fredrik Croona (Cynical Existence).

We next get remixes by Acervus, Homicidal Feelings and Impurfekt.

+ + + : Cold Therapy is definitely not dealing with the typical dark-electronics. The sound is mixing some elements of dark-electro with poignant, haunting atmospheres. It comes closer to an ambient approach of dark-electronic music creating the uniqueness of the band. “Figures And Faces” is a well-crafted piece of music with a tough industrial flavor. It also is one of the bands signed to Advoxya Records with a somewhat different approach, which is good for the label’s diversity.

– – – : The main difficulty with this album and kind of sound is to find a place among the wider number of bands dealing with danceable and more typical formats in the dark-electronic genre. There’s no real hit and I expected some of the remixes getting more dance vibes.

Conclusion: Cold Therapy is dark-electronic music to listen to! It sounds like a subtle ambient power mixed with evil forces.

Best songs: “The Broken One”, “Night Dwellers”, “Scarecrow”, A Story Untold”.

Rate: (7).

Band: www .coldtherapy –official .com / www .facebook .com /cold .therapy .official

Label: www .advoxya –records .com / www .facebook .com /pages /Advoxya –Records /265765706059

‘Click Interview’ with Fredrik Croona: ‘You Need To Challenge Yourself And Try Something You Aren’t Comfortable With’

Inferno Sound Diaries — Sun, 18 Dec 2016 19:30:12 +0000

Swedish artist Fredrik Croona has been already involved in different bands, but the dark-electro driven Cynical Existence remains without a shadow of a doubt his most famous and successful formation. When I last year discovered his debut solo-album “The Grey Line” I got a real shock. Fredrik Croona explored future-pop fields driven by clear vocal parts and accomplished a real interesting composition. He this year released his new opus “Welcome Home” again on Advoxya Records confirming his talent to write cool electro-pop music.

(by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: Your solo-work is an interesting move from pure harsh (h)el(l)ectronic music towards future-pop driven compositions. How did it happened and when did you start writing the first songs in the ‘pop’ genre?

Fredrik: I’ve always been into vocal trance and melodic trance and I wanted to try to fuse that with future-pop to create something that would appeal to the masses. I did some clean vocals in the past, but never really dared to take the step to start making the music. You need to challenge yourself and try something you aren’t comfortable with. The first ‘pop’ song I wrote was “Always The Same” and that was on my debut album which I wrote back in 2014.

Q: I call it future-pop and/or electro-pop driven songs, but how would you analyze the Fredrik Croona sound and what are the main ingredients of the production?

Fredrik: I call it a mix of future-pop with trance and dark-electro influences. Let’s just call it electronic music .

The main ingredients are atmospheric pads and melodies combined with a mix of singing and a few screams to make it stand out a bit and just stir it all up into a mix. I don’t want to be 100% nice , you know? lol

Q: Except the music styles, what are the main differences for you in the composition process between Cynical Existence and Fredrik Croona?

Fredrik: The main difference is the amount of people that are involved in the different projects. Remember that Cynical Existence consists of 3 people even if it’s my face you see everywhere. Even if I’m the main person you shouldn’t forget George and Erik, both are equally part of Cynical Existence as me. Another big difference is the state of mind and where I put the focus when creating a new song.

Q: I noticed an interesting evolution in the global sound production from “The Grey Line” towards “Welcome Home”. How do you see this evolution and were there some elements of the writing/production you wanted to improve?

Fredrik: To be honest I don’t really notice that much of an evolution myself. I just create and as you go on creating you learn new things and sometimes friends teach you a new trick to help you get better. I guess by creating and listening to music , you notice new things and what to improve maybe? There’s a huge difference between being the composer and the listener. You hear things I don’t and vice versa.

Q: “Welcome Home” sounds like an interesting title, like a feeling after a long travel for example. Is there a deeper significance behind the title and the lyrical content of your work?

Fredrik: The artwork for “Welcome Home” is actually a picture of my home town of Gothenburg, and when I made this album it almost felt like I’ve come back home again. I felt more secure and mature when the second album was made and that the direction was the right one for me. The debut was a bit scary, because this was all new to me.

Q: What brings the future for Fredrik Croona and the other music projects?

Fredrik: I’m currently working on my third album and hopefully it will have some interesting collaborations and tracks. And Cynical Existence’s new album “Dying Light” was just finished so next year will be the year where I hopefully go out touring a bit to promote the new album.

Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries

Face The Beat: Session 4 by Cynical Existence

Side-Line introduces Cynical Existence – listen now to ‘Wasteful Scum’ (Face The Beat profile series)

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Sun, 18 Dec 2016 16:00:58 +0000

The 17th track on our free download compilation “Face The Beat: Session 4” (featuring 92 tracks) is by the Swedish combo Cynical Existence. On the – very melodic – track “Wasteful Scum” you get a mix of the typical Cynical Existence electronics with fierce guitars.

The Cynical Existence project was founded in 2011 by the Swedish musician Fredrik Croona but ended up as a trio (George Klontzas, Fredrik Croona and guitarist Erik Gustafsson) with its roots firmly planted in aggrotech. The track we offer you here was originally released back in January 2016 as a New Year’s present. Today it sees a much wider release via the Side-Line compilation.

Listen to “Wasteful Scum” below and download it right here.

Check our “Face The Beat: Session 4” page on Bandcamp to discover the other 91 bands. All donations will go to charity.

Fredrik Croona releases second solo album ‘Welcome Home’ on Advoxya Records

Bernard - Side-Line Staff — Fri, 13 May 2016 13:37:16 +0000

Fredrik Croona (Menschdefekt, ex-Project Rotten and Cynical Existence) will release his second solo album “Welcome Home” on Advoxya Records May 30th. “Welcome Home” is a 12 track album offering a mixture of futurepop, hints of trance, dark electro and clean vocals (with sometimes a few harsh ones to fill in the blanks).

The album features two guest vocalists from the bands Controlled Collapse and konclever and can be previewed below. There will be a limited edition of the album with a second CD called “Början på slutet” (The Beginning of the End). The bonus disc will feature collaborations with Stahlnebel and Black Selket and remixes by Pre:Emptive Strike 0.1 and Totem Obscura vs Acylum.

Says Fredrik: “‘Welcome Home’ is a very personal experince and all songs are written about thoughts and mindsets that I have had. It begins a bit slow and ends in a hellish ride.”

Here’s a teaser of the upcoming release:

https://soundcloud.com/fredrikcroona/fredrik-croona-welcome-home-album-teaser